


heaven is a place on earth (with you)

by hanabyulse



Category: Mamamoo
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1980s, Alternate Universe - Black Mirror Episode: s03e04 San Junipero, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27258253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanabyulse/pseuds/hanabyulse
Summary: two girls frequently cross each other's paths in a simulation after life; or before the afterlife, to feel something.or, a san junipero moonsun au.
Relationships: Kim Yongsun | Solar/Moon Byulyi | Moonbyul
Comments: 1
Kudos: 38





	heaven is a place on earth (with you)

It had been hard to feel alive for Moonbyul, when even in the comforts of San Junipero, she barely felt anything any longer. There it was; a splitting headache. You’d think that even in a simulation they would have eliminated these things, but with the thoughts that filled Moonbyul’s head until they overflowed, it was inevitable. She pounded at her skull, teeth seething at the pain. 

With no other option to relieve her pain, she made her way inside Tucker’s, one of the many nightclubs of San Junipero’s 1987. Moonbyul retrieved a single coin from her pocket and inserted it in the slot of the Street Fighter machine. Much to her surprise, a stranger--a girl--walked up next to her and inserted another coin for a multi-player game. She would play as Ken, which wasn’t very advantageous, Moonbyul thought to herself.

Oh well, it’s the stranger’s loss, and her win, ultimately. Lost in her pride of being a self-proclaimed Street Fighter master, Moonbyul’s moves were easily mirrored and then countered with her opponent’s strategically-timed attacks. She scoffed, that was only the first round. A small crowd started to gather around them now, and she was sure she wasn’t going to let her guard down this time. A frustrated groan came from her throat when she was hit by a Hadouken--of fucking course. A critical hit. 

“You’ve got moves.” Her eyes scanned the stranger from head to toe. She was dressed in an outfit that almost uncannily partnered hers--a black two piece was overlaid with a sparkling mesh one-piece. “But how about on the dance floor?” That was the one thing that she could never go wrong with. Sure, this strangely attractive person was able to deflate her ego with a single win on Street Fighter, but there was no way she danced better than Moonbyul.

“Do you wanna bet?” With her silver boots that gleamed under the neon lights of Tucker’s, the stranger took one courageous step towards Moonbyul. A smirk turned up at the side of her lip, and then a scoff. 

“Bet I’ll do better than you?” Her arms were crossed over the ridiculously large bow she had in front of her black see-through shirt and sequined blazer. Mischievous, that’s what she was. Competitive, the two of them were. The stranger took her by the hand and into the crowded dance floor, confident in her dancing.

The disco ball shone on the two of them, centerstage. The black-haired woman was enjoying feeling herself to the intro portion of Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody. Moonbyul warmed herself up, getting ready to pull off the more “hip” dance moves that she had up her sleeve.

What was surprising to her was that the stranger was singing along to the song, in perfect pitch too. 

“I used to be somewhat of a singer myself,” she told Moonbyul in a loud whisper, as though she could tell what she was thinking of her. While she was thinking of a clever quip, the stranger led her in the dance, keeping their bodies moderately close. This was fun, they were making fun of it, instead of what initially was a competition. Their bodies twisted in mirror of each other, and Moonbyul indulged herself in the amusement of the moment, forgetting about her pride. When was the last time she felt like she truly enjoyed herself?

Moonbyul laid in her bed that night, revisiting the memories of what happened. She would smile and then laugh. She did indeed have fun, thanks to that stranger. The other days she would wake up would end up boring and routine like they always were, but she would think to that day and find herself smiling. 

  
She fixed her short blonde hair and her cropped white jacket before she went inside the roller rink. This was one of the many things she hasn’t tried in San Junipero.

“You again?” Once she had her roller skates' laces tied, a familiar face showed. The girl from Tucker’s, this time, in another outfit that matched hers. It was almost like she was stalking Moonbyul. “Are you stalking me?!” The accusation was made with her eyes widened, and a leaned back torso.

“Me? Are you flattering yourself?! I should be the one asking you that!” There were some points made; she was already in the roller rink, and Moonbyul was only about to get in. With a huff, she stood up and skated her way in, ignoring the weird woman.

“Why are you walking--skating away?” The stranger was insistent on following her, graciously skating.

“I simply do not want to have this conversation.”

“I asked you a question; how could you just walk away!”

“Because I can. You know that? I don’t have to talk to you, I frankly don’t owe you anything,” she told off the stranger in a cold manner, who she swore she saw flinch. Still though, she didn’t back down even when Moonbyul left her to herself on the side of the rink.

“Tell me your name.” Names led to getting to know each other, and flirting, and then attachment, which was definitely the last thing Moonbyul wanted for herself in San Junipero. Whether she needed it, that was up to debate, and she would really rather not. 

“No.” It was a firm rejection, and she tried to rollerskate away from the unnamed person, who only caught up with her with ease.

“It’s just a name,” she said in a soft voice with conviction, earning a sigh from Moonbyul. 

“Fine. My name is Moonbyul. What’s yours then?” Finally, she stopped by the railings, and the girl stood beside her, one foot placed down and the other on its heel. The stranger hummed and then spoke. “Yongsun.”

“How fitting. Yongsun, it’s nice to finally meet you. I hate to admit it, but you’re much better than me at Street Fighter… But not quite the better dancer.” She joked.

“You at least have to give me better singer?”

“If it’s any consolation, then fine. You’re the better singer, Yongsun.” 

“Are you free this Saturday?” Moonbyul pretended to think about her totally empty schedule; she always just went out of her home on a whim, other than that, nothing much was happening for her in San Junipero. She hummed and then looked up unconvincingly, to which Yongsun playfully slapped her forearm.

“Why? So what if I am?” She asked her in a teasing manner, skating backwards. Yongsun readily chased after her, holding onto her shoulders. "Do you have a crush on me or something?"

"I guess you could say that. Let's go eat some ice cream. Together," she said confidently, with a grin that Moonbyul almost couldn't say no. 

"I'll think about it, Yong...sun." Moonbyul eyed her from bottom to top as she did the first time they met and walked away. 

"Where will I know you want to?" This time, Yongsun didn’t even bother to catch up to her anymore, shouting the question. Moonbyul found herself smiling as she looked to the ground.

"At the ice cream parlor. If it's a yes, I'll be there. If not, then I'm not."

  
Moonbyul’s walk had a happy step in it today, Yongsun noticed as she watched her approach the ice cream parlor. 

  
“You been waiting long?” She asked her and Yongsun shook her head when in reality, she had been waiting for a good two hours, taking a toll on her weekly visit time, but she didn’t mind it. It was a date, after such a long while.   
  
“She been here for a while?” Moonbyul called to one of the employees of the ice cream parlor whose head peeked out the take-out window. The man sighed and then nodded.   
  
“He says you’ve been here a while.” Yongsun rolled her eyes and then shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, it’s only been two hours.”    
  
“Two hours?!” Moonbyul exclaimed, her hand opening the door open for the two of them. “Don’t tell me you’re…” Dead, she would say but it was a joke, and she was hoping this wasn’t the case.   
  
“Yes, of course, I am. Deadly patient,” Yongsun joked and it was Moonbyul’s turn to do an eye roll. She took a seat across the counter and pondered over what flavor she wanted. “I’ll take two scoops of mint chocolate on a sugar cone please.” Moonbyul cleared her throat at Yongsun’s questionable choice before ordering two scoops of vanilla.    
  
“What, are you too good for mint chocolate now?” Her voice drawled before she grabbed her ice cream from the server. Moonbyul hummed and then shrugged slightly. “I don’t know. I don’t like it. It tastes like toothpaste.”    
  
“Well, have you tried MMM Ice Cream? Here, I’ll give you the first taste.” She handed the cone to Moonbyul, who leaned in to have a hesitant taste of her despised ice cream flavor. But as she did so, Yongsun intentionally put it more upwards to hit her in the face.   
  
“Oh wow, I am so sorry.” Moonbyul’s thumb wiped off the smudged mint chocolate ice cream above her lip and then glared at Yongsun, who was smirking and surely was sarcastic with that remark. 

  
“That’s very bold of you, I’m honestly impressed.” She inhaled sharply, getting her vanilla ice cream from the counter. “Here, have some of my boring old vanilla.”    
  
“No way! You’re just going to do the same thing to me,” Yongsun told her in a skeptic voice, but seemed to be interested in taking up her offer. She was right, but to Moonbyul, she seemed gullible enough to believe her if she said that she wouldn’t.   
  
“I won’t. Cmon, it’ll melt now.” Sure enough, Yongsun fell right into her trap, and she did the same, only on a larger scale. There was a giant circle stain of vanilla ice cream from her upper lip to her cheek, a medal of Moonbyul’s doing.   
  
“Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up for you,” Moonbyul said when Yongsun’s face turned stoic enough to scare her. She grabbed a few tissue pulls from the box on the counter, but her date’s hand held her wrist and when Moonbyul looked, she tapped at her cheek.   
  
Her face burned a bright red. And here she was, so used to being the more courageous and the more charismatic, being pushed to a corner from one (1) attractive girl. Warily, Moonbyul leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek, which was more than enough to make Yongsun grin from ear to ear.   
  
“What do you say to a movie next week?” Yongsun proposed, and it was a no-brainer to the girl whose face was still flushed from a small interaction. She nodded, silently eating her ice cream beside Yongsun. It was a date, she was certain now.   
  
  


  
  


The movie, she could barely remember, because her eyes were quite literally glued to only watching Yongsun’s reaction to it. So maybe she would say that it was pretty scary based on that alone.

Moonbyul stuffed her hands inside of her pockets and a foggy breath escaped her lips in the damp night. They were walking the less populated streets of somewhere in San Junipero, to Moonbyul’s place from the pictures. It was a whistle, then a hum. Yongsun started to sing, to face Moonbyul and walk backwards with a mischief that gleamed in her eyes.

“Running just as fast as we can, holding on to one another hands,” she sang in a casual tone, reaching for Moonbyul’s hands, who groaned in response. “No, oh my god.” Yongsun dictated her body into twisting gently, like a simple tease from her to Moonbyul.

“Trying to get away into the night and then you put your arms around me.” She sounded almost expectant for Moonbyul to sing the next lyric, putting Moonbyul’s arms on her own shoulders. Her face was making a variety of ridiculous expressions to match the lyrics.

“No, Yongsun!” She cried in opposition, but the girl was already dancing and singing. At this point, it would be futile. Her date was raising her eyebrows in persuasion to make her play along. “And we tumble to the ground and then you say…”

With much detestation, she gave into Yongsun’s desires, ”I think we're alone now, there doesn't seem to be anyone around.” Instead of what was usually a disco ball and a large crowd surrounding them, they really were alone, under a dim streetlight. Yongsun nodded in excitement of Moonbyul singing and dancing with her on her own will and continued to sing. 

“I think we're alone now, the beating of our hearts is the only sound.” The happiness in her voice couldn’t be contained, and her teeth showed through her smile. Moonbyul leaned forward to give her a kiss and Yongsun readily accepted, her feelings fluttering and her joy was contagious. 

“Right. I made something for you.” Reluctantly, she reached for her satchel and retrieved a cassette tape, doodled on horribly by herself. "It's not much, just a few--" She scratched the base of her nape awkwardly, but Yongsun pulled her by her shirt to kiss her again. For the rest of the walk, the two of them tried to avoid looking at each other, shying away from the fact that they had just had their first actual kiss--first actual kisses.   
  
In the morning, they awoke next to each other in Moonbyul’s bed. Nothing had happened, just the occasional kissing, the secretive touches. 

“So why are you here?” Moonbyul spoke lazily, and the smoke wafted from Yongsun's lips. She exhaled deeply and looked away. 

“To feel something.” It was a badly-timed joke, Moonbyul thought, but there was a poignant pause in their conversation, and then Yongsun stared at her. “To feel something; in my fingers, in my legs, in my hips, in my lips. Out there, I can’t at all. I can’t even talk or walk anymore, you know that?” Moonbyul contemplated what to say for a split second but Yongsun held up a hand to her. She made a zipping motion over her lips and pursed them after, listening attentively to what Yongsun had to say next.

“Don’t. Don’t say sorry.” She chuckled, and then scratched her eyebrow with the hand that held her cigarette. Beside her, Moonbyul sighed and nodded. 

“I wasn’t going to. I was going to say I feel the same. That’s a poor choice of words. I don’t feel anything anymore either. Except this… Except us.” Her hand, subconsciously, looks for Yongsun’s to fill the spaces in between. They shared that solace in the silence of Moonbyul’s beach house; shared the solace of each other’s company. Maybe hours had passed like that, just them in the covers, she couldn’t tell, with how time seemed so still.

“It’s time for me to go,” Yongsun spoke up. Moonbyul could only nod and yearn for her comforting hand as she upped and went. Then there was Moonbyul alone. There was Moonbyul alone, again.

It must have been three days; it must’ve been a week before she saw Yongsun again. Surprisingly, she laid down on the sand of the beach. She was just staring at the sky. Careful not to disturb her peace, Moonbyul laid down next to her. As soon as she noticed her presence, Yongsun turned to look at her.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” She sighed dreamily, looking back at the star-filled sky and then back at Moonbyul.

“I know right?” Moonbyul pointed at herself, making Yongsun laugh at her silliness. “Looks the same to me every night,” she said finally. She never took much time to take notice of them, but now that she had, she could say that it was beautiful. She couldn’t remember the last time she saw real stars in the real sky, though. 

“Come to meet me, please, Byul. We can watch the stars, even in the confinement of a hospital. What’s one night?” She pleaded in their space, alone but together. Yongsun held her hands to look for the comfort she always gained in them. “What’s one night?” She repeated in a whisper, and a tear rolled down Moonbyul’s cheek.

“I can’t have one night. I don’t have any other nights left,” she told her lover, and it was the truth. This was the first time she would ever tell anyone in San Junipero. Moonbyul inhaled shakily, and cupped Yongsun’s cheek. “I’m already dead.” The seabreeze suddenly felt so heavy and harsh on their skin, and Yongsun gasped.

She was certain that to some extent, it made sense, but how could it? She spent a given time per week in San Junipero, but Moonbyul always seemed to be here. To feel something, she would say. How many days, how many years had it been?; Yongsun wanted to ask, but the shock vibrated through her body that left her paralyzed.

“I… I can stay here with you, forever,” she told Moonbyul after what seemed like an eternity but her lover only shook her head with her eyes closed. “Wouldn’t you want that?”

“Yongsun… Yong. Isn’t there a family out there waiting for you everyday? There’s your sister, your parents, your niece and nephews. You can’t throw all that away for me. Don’t.” Her eyebrows were knitted together and her voice told Yongsun that she cared enough for her to not be selfish in having her all to herself.

“They don’t care. They never will care about me, and I’ve waited for years for anyone to care. And you’re here, you’re all I have. Please let me stay.” She was desperate, now. Yongsun hiccuped and sobbed, holding onto Moonbyul’s hand, afraid that she would disappear somewhere, somehow.

“I can’t let you just throw it all away for me, Yong. I can’t.. I can’t let you do to yourself what they did to me.” That only had to mean that she was euthanized out of mercy; for what reason, it was unknown to Yongsun, but still, she cried.    
  
“Don’t you want to give it a shot?” She smiled, but it pained her to do so. “It’s just one try. If it doesn’t work out, so what if I’m here forever?”

“Forever is a long time, Yong.”    
  
“It wouldn’t feel so long with you.”

Time and time again, there was Moonbyul, then there was Yongsun. Time and time again, there was heaven. In San Junipero, she found heaven. In San Junipero, every day was heaven for Moonbyul with Yongsun. 

  
  
  



End file.
